[Ag-eq] Do I fight or just find some other way

[Jody W. Ianuzzi]

Hi Barb,

I have been thinking about your problem all day.  I know of a man who spent
four years in a program to become a chiropractor and at the end the school
refused to certify him because he was blind.  He sued and won saying that
they accepted his money and they had a contract that if he met the
requirements of the program then it was their prejudice only that kept him
from being certified.  He won.

I know a woman who had support from Voc. Rehab. to become a message
therapist.  She had several teachers that thought she couldn't do it and
they flunked her out of the program.  Even her counselor sided with the
school saying she couldn't do it.  She went to another school on her own and
she graduated top in her class.  she plants to mail a copy of her diploma to
the first school (I think she has proof of discrimination) and a copy to her
counselor.  Now she is thinking of adding Personal Trainer to her
certifications.  

When Erik Weihenmeyer decided to climb Mt. Everest he had people telling him
he couldn't do it all the way to the top of the world.  

How about an anecdotal story that I love.  There was a class of students in
gym class and each kid was climbing a rope to the ceiling of the gym.  As
they climbed the teacher kept telling them how dangerous it was, how high
the ceiling was, how out of shape the kids were and one by one the kids were
giving up and sliding to the floor.  One student kept going and finally he
reached the ceiling, slapped it and slid down to the floor.  why did he
succeed?  Because he was deaf.  He never heard all the negative comments.

I think we have to be deaf to negative attitudes too.  I am 57 years old and
I have always been a maverick.  When someone said I couldn't do something I
had to prove I could.  I have yet to pick something I wanted to do without
finding a way of succeeding, not because I felt I had to prove anything but
just because I wanted to do it for the fun of it.

I grew up before the ADA and before there was any legal recource for
discrimination.  I had to be assertive and stick to my guns to get any
where.  I think that by combining that with the new laws of discrimination
you can't be stopped.

I am not telling YOU what to do but I can tell you what I would do in this
situation.  I would NOT give up or avoid the situation.  I would confront
the person who is giving me the most problems and I would say something like
You know, I have run in to people telling me I can't do things all my life.
I realize you probably haven't met a blind person before and you assume that
blind people can't do anything but let me tell you a few stories. Then I
would list off a few really good stories about Erik and others to illustrate
the point.  Then I would describe how people told them they couldn't succeed
either but they did it anyway.

I would say that I have been told I can't do things all my life and I just
get tired of hearing it some times.  I figure if I can't do something one
way, I just find another way to succeed.  I would then make a comment that
my biggest barrier is prejudice and misinformation and that when given a
chance I can demonstrate my ability but if I don't get a chance then that is
really just due to discrimination and I sure wouldn't want that to be the
case here.  (this is a threat since the school is liable for a
discrimination suit)        

Since people are ignorant of alternative ways to do things I would then
describe how I would work around problems.  I think it is important to take
control here since you can provide more information then they have thought
of.  If a higher power microscope would compensate for limited vision, then
I would suggest it. I would explain that most people who draw blood do so by
feel and many people actually close their eyes to do this.  This would be
espec7ially true while trying to draw blood on a furry animal.  

If you don't mind me asking, how much vision do you have?  Working as a vet
tech if you can't see shit then you really are at a disadvantage
figuratively and literally.  hahahaha 

If this is something you truly want to do then the instructors will pick up
on this.  The real dedicated teachers will work with you, not against you.
You can use the dedicated teachers to help you get past the negative
teachers.  

All I can say is that those times I gave in because of pressure from others
I later regretted it very much and I usually discovered after the fact that
it was something I really could have done if only I hadn't listened.

So don't give up.

JODY